It looks like the return of red lipstick and I should be happy about it, because a good red is often all we need. Decent skin and some red lipstick and we’re good to go.

I’ve even worn it for a long time now. It saved me before parties in the past. Yep, but at the same time, I often get the urge to toss all my reds in the garbage. And I have to admit that nowadays, I barely ever wear red.

Because:

It puts you in rather compromising situations.

“Garance, ummm…Sorry to say it, but you have red lipstick on your teeth.”
Yeah, that happened as recently as Thursday, at my Kate Spade cocktail party. Luckily, I had someone nice enough (it’s not easy to tell someone you don’t know very well that there is lipstick on her teeth)
to tell me what was going on or else I would have taken all the photos with a big RED smile.

You can’t give any kisses.

And I love to give kisses. Big ones to my man, small ones to my friends, to everyone pretty much.

Except that afterward, I have to swipe their cheek. With my friends, that is…
Because when it comes to kissing my man with red lipstick, it’s NO WAY unless I want to find myself next to Robert Smith. Can you imagine Scott done up like Robert Smith?
Freaky!!!

(Here’s a video for you Cure-ignorant teenagers–look, I love Robert Smith. The Cure is one of the best groups ever made on the surface of the earth. If Robert ever showed up on my doorstep when I was 15, I would have married him right then and there. I would even have retouched his lipstick after kissing him…. No worries. Weird? Nope. It’s Robert Smith after all!)

It makes your lips look smaller.

You remember my video for Petit Bateau? I had crimson red lips. They looked normal but if you looked close IRL (In Real Life. Is that still a registered expression?), you would’ve seen that the red went beyond the edge of my lip line by like… an inch or two?

Yep, yeeeeeeeep. That’s just how we do it, all us actors.

Whatever.

… My makeup artist asked me if it was okay if he practiced subterfuge and I said OK, but every time I looked in the mirror, I felt like I was Big Ang and that didn’t necessarily do it for me.
(If you don’t know Big Ang, you’re missing out on a serious cultural treasure. Google it already! )

Yeah, because if you would’ve followed my actual lip line, it would’ve looked like Robert Smith’s super small tight mouth which is pretty much the exact opposite of sexy. (Except on Robert Smith, etc…)

The problem is that real life is no different… Red shrinks your lips.
But IRL, people can walk right up to you and see you up close.

You have to reapply it every 3 minutes.

Ok by that I mean, every hour.

If you’re like me and you like talking all the time, giving kisses, and having a glass of wine, you have to redo it constantly. And the problem is if you’re like me, you’re NOT going to go check your makeup in the middle of a party, and definitely not every single hour…

Then you end up with red lipstick just around the edges, ie: the least classiest thing in the world. And you’re not aware of it until you’re all the way back home.

So to conclude, red is great for photos. Or when you have lips as amazing as my friend Michele’s.

Who, when I look at this photo, makes me want to forget everything I’ve learned (drop the red) and find my audacity (All red all the time!) all over again.

I understand your love-hate relationship with red lipstick…but the thing is, it looks damn fantastic, on everyone, and makes super minimal eyes/skin/cheeks look so classy. I think it’s worth the trouble of checking your reflection in a compact every 5 minutes, and re-applying every 10 minutes, and perhaps even stop kissing people for a couple of hours! I must say though, the Estee Lauder one in the golden ribbed packaging stays a looong time.

I didn’t start wearing red lipstick until a few years ago and I am still in love with it. I agree, though, it has all the problems you mention. But the fact is, it’s when I’m wearing a really bold lip that strangers in the subway tell me how much they love my makeup. Hard to argue with that!

Garance-Don’t give up on red! Sometimes nothing is more beautiful. If you can’t be fussed to reapply constantly, find a color that looks great in all of its variations (full-on, somewhat faded, applied with a light touch). My favorites are Chanel Allure Laque in Dragon and Nars Heatwave.

I do have a “secret”! Well, it’s not a secret since a lot of people know about this, but there’s a way to make your red last longer.

It’s a boring procedure but it works.

First, you scrub your lips with a lipscrub or your toothbrush. Then, you apply some lip balm . Once it’s “dry”, line your lips. You can also use a lip primer, Too Faced works for me. When your lips are perfectly lined (or “I did what I could”-lined ) you take your favourite red and apply it with a brush. From the middle to the edge of the lips. Smack your lips with some paper to remove the excess aaaand….apply some translucent powder. I use the HD powder from Make Up Forever. Then apply lipstick again with the brush, remove the excess again and a little more powder. This will leave you with some pretty velvet-y red lips.

Now, you can leave like that or you can apply a little touch of gloss in the middle if you like your lips shiny. Limecrime sells an amazing red lipgloss called Candy Apple that has saved me more than one time. To be fair it’s more than a gloss, it’s perfection in a bottle.

i had a small pill(capsule) shaped red stain Its was in a tiny box wrapped in wax paper It’s is use by Geishas It’s was the perfect base for red….can find anymore…bought it at Pat Fields when she was still on 8th st.

Sephora makes an amazing red lipstick/stain. It looks like it would be gloss but once you put it on your lips it dries completely with a really great matte finish and does not come off at all. Really. You can eat and drink and give kisses (small ones). The shade is great and I always get comments from friends asking what it is when they see it doesn’t come off after eating/drinking/etc. It comes in other shades but the red is the best.

Hi Garance, I know how we can solve your problem! Chanel has a lip product that comes in a tube, It has one side gloss and the other a lipstick. You take the lipstick side, put it on and wait for it to dry( for about a minute or less); Once the lipstick has dried, it will not move. you then take the gloss and voila, you have the perfect red lip.

Product name: Rouge Double Intensite
Tip: you will need make up remover for it to come off

Try Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetic’s Lip Tar. I just got my first one. It’s amazing. You barely use ANY at all and it lasts all day. It is also in a matte finish once it’s on, so it’s dramatic and bold in color but it’s not like you get these tiny little, shiny lips. Everyone I’ve seen with the OCC Lip Tar on has a beautiful, colored lip. Try it!

Here’s my top 3 (tried and tested for many years!)
MAC’s Pro Longwear Lipcolor in Lasting Lust. Won’t come off. I sometimes forget to wipe it off with something oily, and wake up with perfect lips ;-)
It has 2 sides, one color, one glossy sealer, but unlike many products it’s not drying.

If you’re looking for something more lightweight and transparent: YSL Glossy Stain (I like No 10) does exactly what the name promises. It stains your lips beautifully, with a nice sheen to it (but not glossy like gloss is, and your hair won’t stick to it!).

A true matte lipstick: MAC’s Ruby Woo. Stays on pretty good!

And my finale tip, to prevent the dreaded lipstick-on-teeth: after you’ve done your lips, put your finger in your mouth, close it, and take your finger out. Whatever color there was on the inside of your lips is now on your finger, and won’t rub off on your teeth!

Can’t believe you don’t know of THE lipstick. It is not designer, it’s better.

Sephora’s brand. I went in there with a few guidelines:

-it can’t dry out my lips
-it has to be kissable
-it must not be sticky
-it has to last all night long

And she headed me over to the Sephora’s lipstick….swearing it was an unbiased suggestion.

After one night of compliments, kissing my boyfriend, drinking, dancing, smoking, I went home with beautiful red lips, that I could have sworn it was actually my real lip color. Do check it out, it will restore your love in the red lips.

Funny you should post this today. I have been contemplating as well to move back to red lipstick. (I live in the Caribbean….so it is even more of a statement, I find, when wearing red lipstick). Am still doubting, but I must say it looks so incredible chic.

The Cure and Big Ang in the same post? This made my morning! The quest for the perfect shade of red has been such a challenge for me; I obsess over it when I see a red lip done well (like in your picture) and cringe when I see it done poorly (sorry Gallery Girls, I was ready to call a “wrap” on red lipstick last week). I still love a strong Red lip, because it’s a small, inexpensive way to make a big impact. For day I wear Senna’s Code Red lip laquer, and at night my fave is YSL #1.

Sephora Cream Lip Stain is the best! Cheap and stays on while eating, drinking, kissing.. Also to avoid lipstick on teeth, after applying open your mouth and stick your indexfinger between your lips and quickly pull finger out. Your finger will wipe out the lipstick on the inside of your lips, which would before get onto your teeth.

When I got married, I was so stressed out I didn’t give any thought to the kissability of my red lipstick. When my husband kissed his red-mouthed bride, he turned directly into Robert Smith. Then he planted a kiss directly onto my cheek. We both had red lipstick every where. But the audience loved it.

I say forget it! It’s far too high maintenance. Who wants to keep applying it every half hour! It doesn’t look good when it starts to wear off and there are far more important things to do than keep checking your lipstick looks good.

It’s far easier to maintain a subtle lip colour and combine it with striking eyeliner and eyeshadows.

Oh how I loooove the “red lip-bare face” look… Beyond classy & cool @ the same time… Unfortunately, my all time favourite has been discontinued… YSL Rouge Pur Star Red, the truest red ever… Great staying power… I swithched to Chanel Rouge Coco, and the quality is amazing… I just can’t get over my YSL shade :((

I wanted to embrace red lipstick a few years ago, but every shade I tried made me look 10 years older. I was in a meeting last week with a girl in her twenties who was wearing a vibrant red. She had beautiful skin, but the red lipstick was not at all flattering. Vibrant lipstick seems to accentuate any wrinkles one may have. Actually, the only time I’ve worn vibrant lipstick (and liked it) was in high school. I had no wrinkles, so the color was nice.

I also don’t want to be worried about whether lipstick is on my teeth or somewhere else on my face beside my lips. If you’re worried about whether your make-up is in place, it shows. Make-up and clothing that allows you to feel self-confident is the best way to go.

WHAT ABOUT LESS THAN PERFECT TEETH? Mine are yellow. Not Disney-villain yellow, but not white. I don’t want to have a layer of enamel burned off for them to be whiter. So, when I wear a red (on the sallow side), I look great, so long as I don’t smile.

Of course you have all these problems when you use a creamy red lipstick (YSL rouge volupte for example). You should use mattes or stains! They go quite dry on your lips but the trick is to put on lip balm first but they just stay for hours, don’t smear all over your face and if you find a good one, kisses are allowed

InSaaaaaaaane! Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick! It works better than anything I’ve ever tried. Won’t smudge at all so apply veeeeery carefully. Perfectly velvety matte. I tried Icon, but it was too “cherry” for me. I think that I need Raven ( orange-y red)… Oh and I think that it helps if you put a stain like Josie Maran’s on underneath, so that you have a brighter base to guide you, as you paint on the lipstick.

British makeup artist Lisa Eldridge did a great tutorial on long-lasting red lipstick (http://www.lisaeldridge.com/video/22248/my-long-lasting-night-out-look-new-products-chat-and-news/) that really works. I do find that certain shades of red can make me look like (Whatever Happened to) Baby Jane, so now if I want the pop of color on my lips, I go for Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Rebelle, a pigmented but sheer red. It leaves a cherry popsicle stain when it wears off and its easy to reapply without a mirror. Not an elegant evening red, but a great every day color.

i love ysl rouge pur couture line! they are easy to apply and very longlasting. “box” from illamasqua is my favorite shade of red. when i saw swedish beauty blogger viola from killercolours wearing it, i was blown away.

In case someone didn’t already mention this in one of the 88 comments above, I must tell you to try the YSL Vernis a Levres. It is F A B U L U S! It’s a lip stain, very easy to apply, looks just beautiful on your lips and even when it wears out a bit after a looong time, it leaves a great color on.

I love your blog! It’s so much fun. But I have to disagree with you on red lipstick. The right shade doesn’t really shrink your lips too much, and a good matte lipstick or pencil will stay where you want it all night (try on of revlons wonderful matte lipsticks or Nars lip crayon in “Cruella”) I also love the sheer lipsticks by boots. There’s one that is a beautiful glossy red. There are all sorts of options for red lipstick. Keep looking. You’ll find one that doesn’t let you down.

Aaaaaaaaah – finally! Someone who admits the problem and does so in all its glory. I thought it was just me. I agree with you on all points – the thing is that either I am super confident (which happens like .. pretty much … never) and just go for it, and end up being more than uncomfortable and self-conscious for all the reasons you listed above or I have a really great friend with me. And I guess that’s the only advice I can really give – if you’re out and about with said friend nothing can go wrong. He/She will point out with care or/and nonchalance what’s up with the red on your lips – whether it’s no longer there, has moved on to your teeth, looks like a child tried to make you their personal clown, etc. … Moreover, he/she will have a complementing beauty-kit with him/her and dutifully accompany you to a panicky trip to the bathroom – whether its for your make-up or just to figure out what is going on with the guy who would rather not get red all over his face and chooses not to smooch you. And last but not least, said friend will cheer you and your red lips on/up and make for a fantastic time – cause that’s the same you do for him/her. Voilà – that’s the awesomest and foolproofed advice (duh I tried everything believe you me) I could come up with.
Love from Vienna

I heard that if you hold a tissue to your lips and lightly buff on some powder through the tissue, you can help set the color. Also, you can apply the red in multiple layers, but remove enough lipstick each time to create a stain. Of course, with the final layer, you keep it on, and it’ll be richer and more long-lasting!

Unfortunately, I cannot personally attest to these tricks since I share the same quandaries about red lips, but they are tried & true with makeup artists ;)

I get my lips red by cutting a sliver off of a beet and kissing it. It gets a natural purplish-red color and it can range from very subtle to very vibrant depending on how much beet you rub on your lips! It’s a great stain and fades naturally over a few hours which I don’t mind, and best of all there are no chemicals in it!

LOVE red lipstick! I always use Chanel products and take the time to carefully use a lipliner (in a matching shade of course) then colour my lips in with the pencil. This makes sure the lipstick ‘sticks’ to your lips. I then use a lip brush to apply the lipstick.

It’s not something I can rush but it’s totally worth it and it stays all night (albiet one touch up). I’m also a drummer to it’s important that my make-up stays put!

Garance your are so funny! Even including Robert Smith of The Cure in your post. I love that song “Friday I’m in Love! ” But everything you wrote here is so true about red lipstick. It is great to wear unless you don’t have to talk too much. Maybe a red lipgloss will do?

Hi Garance, I have to remark on the editing done on Michele here… the soft-touch blurring or whatever (don’t know what it’s called “IRL” haha)… it’s very obvious. Maybe this was done on purpose, I don’t mean to assume anything, and I’m not against editing, but I feel like the visibility of the blurring done on her face detracts from the photo and Michele’s lovely features.
I enjoyed reading your post as always, such a delight! :)
xx

Funny, yesterday I was just thinking about all the reds I have. They sit in my makeup box unused, like most of my makeup. I have tried searching for the perfect red or red orange lipstick for a few years now. But I totally agree with all the above, the ring around the lips, the reapplying, the mess! But I still want it every time I see a perfect shade in an ad.
<3 the cure!

I have recently discovered how luscious my lips were and i went to a napoleon make up party and usually i dont wear too much makeup but they made me up with gorgeous red lips. i like blue based lip colours because i find orange based colours make my teeth look yellow.
The combination of the Napoleon the Rococo Red lip liner and Bitten Rouge gloss is an almost all night stayer. The gloss is sticky but it makes all the difference, i find that with a night of drinking and eating only 1 touch up application is required during the night. not only that the colour is fab. I promise you wont be sorry!

Red lips can be a bit of a man repeller, but far too chic not to wear! And I’m a big fan of Michele Ouellett- loved her feature in C Magazine with her mother Melinda (I was very fortunate to meet Melinda this summer in Napa & she was so sweet).

I second Evie with Chanel’s Rouge Double Intensité. It is the only red lipstick that has real staying power, even after a long, long night of dancing. It comes off with an oil-based make-up remover, which also means it will come off a bit after your salad course, but for cocktail parties and any other event that doesn’t require salads, you will be in it for the long haul!

garance, the product that has changed my lazy-with-the-lipstick life is the tarte lip stains. they are like big crayons, so easy to apply exactly, and you can swipe a quick wash of light colour or pigment your lips more intentionally. the best part about this product though? it does not fade from the inside, or stick on your glass, or anything (although maybe it comes off on to greasy food or any food with any kind of oil, including salad)… instead, it does a slow, even fade that makes wearing a red lip a breeze even at a super hot summer wedding while you are dying in a floor-length silk dress! no fuss and definitely no muss.

Don’t give up on it – red is worth it. I use Matte Russian Red Mac – and I haven’t had a problem with smudgey-ness – it seems to stick to your lips just right. I usually do the kiss test when i buy a new one, my boyfriend hates it intially but then he’s happy when I find one that sticks (to me and not him!)

I wrote a blog post on the same topic (http://optimistics.de/?p=68) so I just had to comment:
Don’t give up on lipstick! Ever! I know exactly how you feel but for me a red lip is just the thing to wear to a special occation or just for fun if you go shopping. For me the right lipliner is the key. And have you ever tried the actdeco collection by Dita von Teese?

I adore red lipstick, but only if the girl is refined / very elegant, or delicately graceful and nonchalant… btw powder works if you want to make lipstick last longer.
PS Michelle always (always) looks great…

I have always loved the idea of lipstick, but there are two big reasons that I’ve never done anything more than trying it on for a few minutes before I wipe it off in a hurry.

1) I’m lazy- if part of my make-up would require touching up or constant checking then I don’t do it…I need to be able to put it on in the morning, maybe have a quick look at myself at lunch to check that I don’t have panda eyes and then come home in the evening looking pretty much the same as I did when I left.

2) My ‘water line’ on my lips starts really early so even though I have a fairly big bottom lip, about a quarter of it is my ‘water line’ even when my mouth is closed. This makes the darker lipsticks that I love the look of just look stupid as you can can see my natural lip colour! So stupid looking!

Garance
I love your blog! Especially your illustrations! Re: red lipstick, I find that it can be aging on a woman of a certain age. My solution is to wear Angel Red by Clinique which gives SHEER color not so mat.
Marion

Garance I know exactly what you mean- I work in a tea shop and I was forever having to wipe my red lipstick of my teacups! it was awful! but I couldn’t give up my red lips so i found a red lip that really stays put. The best I’ve tried so far is Revlon Colorstay- it comes in a really nice shade (top tomato!) and seriously never comes off! not on teacups- not even when I kiss my man :)

YUP, ONCE AGAIN GARANCE I CAN BUT AGREE… I RECENTLY WENT TO A WEDDING WHEREBY “A FRIEND” INSISTED THAT ALL I WAS MISSING WAS SOME CHERRY RED LIPSTICK. NOT BEING ONE TO MAKE A SCENE (YOU KNOW, DANGER MUSIC BLARRING WHISLT SHE LUNGED AT ME RED LIPSTICK IN HAND AS WE FOUGHT ACROSS TABLES) , SO I AGREED. HALF AN HOUR LATER OR SO I WAS CONFIDENTLY ORDERING SOME WINE AT THE BAR. QUIETLY HAPPY WITH MY NEWLY AQUIRED LEVEL OF “BAR PRESENCE”. IT DID NOT ESCAPE MY EAGLE-LIKE GAZE THAT THE BARMAN SEEMED TO BE SOMEWHAT TAKEN WITH MY NOW RUBY HUED LIPS – WATCHING MY MOUTH AS I FORMED EACH WORD. I PUT THIS DOWN TO THE NEWLY DISPLAYED RED LIP. IT WAS ONLY WHEN I WENT TO ADMIRE SAID POUT IN THE POWDER ROOM THAT I REALSIED I WAS DISPLAYING THAT MOST HORRID OR HORBILE THINGS… RED LIPSTICK JUST ABOUT CLINGING TO THE EDGES OF MY LIPS, I LOOKED AS THOUGH I HAD BEEN SUCKING ON SOMETHING UNSAVOURY FOR MUCH OF THE AFTERNOON… NEEDLESS TO SAY NEVER AGAIN!

Garance, I seldom comment here, but this time I HAD TO! It’s a very funny post! I pretty much wear red every day (as you can see in my blog), and although I see ALL of your points, the key is in applying it the right way (which, yes, takes longer than other colors, but it’s worth it!) If you line your lips first and powder them, and reline and paint them, they’ll last a long time. Also, I wear a tinted balm over them, so when the red has faded a bit, if I put the balm again and rub my lips together it re-distributes the whole thing when you cannot really go re-apply. Another trick is to paint the lips in a rosier shade and just dab the center with red. Since there are no borders, it will fade naturally…

I have to admit, I’m lucky to have naturally red lips, so red is pretty much my only option. Talk about looking COMPLETELY weird in a nude lip or a soft pink! I wish I could do those, but I cannot :( Oh, well!

Anyway, not always a commenter, but always a reader :D And yes, you look GREAT in a red lip!!! Bisous!

Écoute Garance! Try any of TOM FORD’s red lipsticks but use sparingly with a lip brush. They contain a high amount of beautiful pigment so they actually stain the lip. Blot a couple of times then put a dab of – again – Tom Ford lipgloss cette fois in the centre of the lower lip et voilà! The lipgloss should be a more neutral colour so as to “calm” the red. Try Rose Crush gloss 02 but I’ll let you decide on the lipstick tint. It really depends on your skin tone. This combo lasts all evening! Well, almost…
TF cosmetics are bloody expensive but with the lipbrush.

Garance, dont give up- you have got to try lip stain! I had the same problems, and hated the greasy-at-first, dry-and-crusty-later feel of regular lipstick, but loved the look of red lips. Then I tried a lipstain (***CoverGirl Outlast LipStain***) and it solves all the above problems! Except for when I drink hot coffee or tea, the lipstain stays on all day and doesn’t get on my teeth, my cups, or my husband’s cheek. Plus, it goes on practically like a magic marker, so it’s really easy to apply.

But it’s only Thursday… by tomorrow, you must be in love with red again! Because red lips are CLASSIC. Don’t give up Garance!! Here is my trick: Get one of those lip-sealant glosses. Yes, it makes your lips feel kind of dry and weird, but who cares. Buy a color as close to your favorite red lipstick as possible. Do one layer of the “ever-wear/ever-stay/forever and ever and ever-you-will probably-have-to-scrub-this-off” red lip gloss, and then one layer on top of that with your red lipstick. TA DAA!! As the red lipstick fades, there is still red underneath, and you won’t look un-classy at all. Lip liner also helps the lips look bigger – but be wary of the color. Good luck & big red smooches!!!!

I used to wear red every day, I don’t anymore because I don’t think it looks as good as you get older. Maybe it has to do with the shrink effect, you are right both of age and the red. But I would apply one layer, and then kiss it off on tissue, apply another, kiss it off again, and then a little bit of lipbalm, so lips don’t crack (under the pressure of so much red) and voila, no stains, red on teeth etc. Or use Benefit of Stainiac. Btw I have a friend who never uses make-up. Once in a while she will put on lipstick. I always gets on her teeth. But I feel so bad telling her, help!

If you use a matter red lipstick it will actually last hours and hours, surviving drinks and greaseless nibbles (though not a full meal, for sure) and the occasional peck on the cheek. My favorite is Nars Heat Wave, and it lasts so long that I usually apply it and then don’t have to give it another thought!

I wore red occasionally in my 20s (I have the same colouring as your friend in the photo), but generally I find the look too harsh (especially now that I am getting older). I tend to favour a natural look anyhow, so I suppose I’m not a good example. Your mouth has a lovely shape and I would not think you would need any lipstick!

Garance, as a fashion maven, you need to have a great red lipstick in your arsenal! Might I recommend M.A.C.’s Ruby Woo? It is their only lipstick that still has the original matte formula, so the lipstick does not move. I use a good red lip pencil to line and fill in my lips, then I put that on top. I also recommend blotting the final product just so red lipstick on your teeth doesn’t happen again!